Transfer pattern to the 1 1/2
inch side of the piece of basswood . Drill a small hole at the eye
location to later insert your keychain. (Do this before cutting
outline while you have more wood to hold) Cut out sides and one end
of outline with a band saw or skill saw before cutting off the end
length. You will have the block shape of your fish and be ready to
carve.

Basic Beginner Pattern

STEP 2.

Determine which direction the grain is
running. You will want your carving cuts to go with the
grain. (Practice making a few cuts on a scrap of wood or a potato)
You will find that you must slice into the wood and all the
way through the cut to come up and out at the end of the slice.
It is almost like using your spoon to scoop out melon balls.
If you do not cut out at the end of your cut you will rip or tear
the wood. Your cuts may be very short or longer, whichever you can
do easily without tearing the wood. If your chip
does not drop off by itself it is not cut all the way. Do not
pull off your chips as this will also tear the wood.

STEP 3.

Start carving your fish. All that
is needed with a stylized piece of art is rounding off all the edges
on both the front and back side of the cutout. Keep rounding
off and shaping until you think it actually looks like a fish.
Always cut with the grain (it is easier) After you have
rounded the edges, determine the center side line of your fish and
do some more rounding as you probably quit too soon. Keep working
until you have a nice smooth fish. It does not require any details
of fins or scales.

MESSAGE

from
N W C A

The carvers of the
Northwest Carvers Assn. want to encourage you to continue the art of
carving. Try a few more simple stylized carvings before moving on.
We have added patterns for Christmas Decorations that may be
carved in this same manner. Soon you will feel comfortable enough to go on to more
detailed relief or articles in the round. You will be able to
do any of these projects with the 3 basic tools mentioned in
the FAQ page as long as you keep your tools sharp. Read our
other tutorials that we have added. Enjoy our links.
They will open the world of carving to you and introduce you to
carving supply areas and also to more tutorials on wood carving.

HAPPY
CARVING

Be sure to
visit our other web pages & links from our Home page

STEP 4.

When you are satisfied, use the
sandpaper to smooth the fish. Stylized art is usually smooth
finished. You do not want any cuts to show. With more practice it
will not take very much sanding and later on you can develop a style
that requires no sanding. Your fish will be smooth and feel
good to the touch.

STEP 5.

Dust off all sawdust and apply one of
the finishes listed above. If you have cut marks and use
anything to finish with that has color, your marks will show
. (Don't want that) Attach your chain and the project is
finished.